Device for adjusting faucets in vessels



(No Model.)

G; W. HARRIGAN'.

DEVICE FOR ADJUSTING FAUCETS IN VESSELS.

No. 361,512. Patented Apr. 19 1887.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE \V. HARRIGAN, OF BANGOR, MAINE.

DEVICE FOR ADJUSTING FAUCETS IN VESSELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 361,512, dated April 19, 1887.

Application filed April 3, 1886. Serial No. 197,642.

T0 at whom it 12mg concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. HARRI- GAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bangor, in the county of Penobscot and State of Maine, have invented a new and useful Device for Adjusting Faucets in Vessels against Outward Pressure; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention consists of animproved device for adjusting faucets in vessels containing fermented liquors, and, generally, for taking up and holding distance gained against resistance, and is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my f device applied to an ale-barrel. Fig. 2 is a bottom View of follower. Fig. 3 is asectional view of follower. Fig. 4c is an elevation of standard.

Similar letters refer to corresponding parts throughout the figures.

The operation of tapping vessels containing fermented liquors is frequently attended with much difficulty in introducing the faucet and preventing the escape of the liquor. My object is to provide an apparatus whereby the bung may be driven in and the faucet introduced without danger of the faucets being driven out or the contents of the vessel beingwasted.

The device which I have adopted is especially designed for use upon kegs, casks, or barrels containing malt liquors, although with a modified form of the clamp I have shown it could be applied to many other descriptions of vessels.

In construction I provide a clamp, A, bowed to fit over the chine of thebarrel. The inner jaw, c, of the clamp, after passing over the chine, is bent substantially at a right angle to lie horizontally upon the barrel-head, and the horizontal extension-a forms a bed-plate or foundation for the standard 13, as hereinafter explained, while'the spur a, chamfered to fit in the groove or crease below the chine of the barrel, is formed upon the bend of said inner jaw. The outer jaw, c, is projected downward outside the barrel to a convenient dis tance, but preferably below the barrel-head,

(No model.)

and is provided with a set-screw, C, the forward end of which may, if desired, carry a plate or facing bent and shaped to fit upon the side of the barrel and afford a large bearingsurface. I

Rigidly secured upon the bed-plate a, and perpendicular thereto, is the standard B,which is screw-threaded at its upper end, and swiveled upon said standard and movable vertically thereon is the follower D. Around said standard and above said follower is the spiral spring E, preferably having its ends secured in washers or collars c 6, having smooth faces and sliding vertically upon said standard. Working upon the screw-threaded portion of said standard and above said spring is the nut F, having preferably one or more leverarms,

The device thus described is operated as follows: The extension at of the innerjaw of the clamp A is placed upon the barrel-head in such position that the follower D may be swung over the bung-hole with the spur a inserted under the chine. The set-screw G is operated and the whole device solidly clamped to the upward on the standard B and the followerD swung round upon the standard, so that its under side may-bear upon the head of the faucet. The nut F is then operated until the spring E is powerfully contracted. The faucet is now firmly held between the bung,on which its bottom rests, and the follower D, which presses down upon its head with all the force of the contracted spring. The top of the follower D is now struck with a mallet and the follower descends, the bung enters farther into the bun g-hole, the faucet follows, and the distance gained by the follower is held by the relaXa tion of the spring. The nut Fis again operated and the spring again contracted. The follower is again struck, with the same result as before, and the operation is repeated until the faucet is driven home.

The advantages of my device may be chiefly seen at the moment when the bung is driven [O first, of the spring and the nut behind it, and

afterward by thestrength with which the whole device is clamped to the barrel.

Such is the general description and construction of my invention, and in this form 1 it performs the particular object sought to be accomplished; but for convenience and ease of operation I have added certain minorimprovements. Upon one side of the bed-plate a, I form a projection or guide, 00, having its outer extremity hollowedto conform to the curve of the bung-hole, and by means of this guide the clamp A may be properly located upon the barrel-head, as shown in Fig. 1, the clamp being so placed that the curve in the guide shall substantially coincide with the curve of the bung-hole.

A depression may also be formed upon the under side of the follower D, as at d,to receive the head of the faucet, steady it, and prevent it 0 from slipping from under the follower when the latter is under percussion. A collar,b, may be formed upon the standard B, to prevent the followers falling down upon the bed-plate a, and a handle, d, may be formed upon the fol- 3 5 lower D, and an arm may be projected from the bed-plate a on the side opposite the guide a", to prevent tilting and to steady the whole.

My invention,with amodified form of clamp, is susceptible of application to vessels of any 0 form orkind when the bangs are to be driven and a faucet adjusted simultaneously against outward pressure. The form of clamp I have shown is designed only for use upon barrels, kegs, or casks; but itis evident that my screw- 5 threaded standard, follower, spring, and nut may be combined with any form of clamp, or (the standard being rigidly secured at both ends) may be used without any clamp whatever as a device for following and holding distance gained against resistance, either continuous or intermittent.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A device for taking up and holding distance gained against resistance, continuous'or otherwise, consisting of the combination of a fixed cylindrical standard screw-threaded at one end for a portion of its length, a nut op erating uponthe screw-threaded portion of said standard against one end of aspiral spring surrounding a portion of the mid-length of said standard and bearing with its other end upon a follower, aspiral spring surrounding a portion of the mid-length-of said standard and placed between said nut and a follower, and a follower sliding upon said. standard in advance of said spring, substantially as described.

2. A device for adjusting faucets in vessels against outward pressure, consisting of the combination of a clamp shaped and formed to be secured to some convenient part or parts of such vessels, a cylindrical standard rigidly secured to said clamp and screw-threaded at its upper end for a portion of its length, a nut operating upon the screw-threaded portion of said standard against one end of aspiral spring a surroundinga portion of the mid-length ofsaid standard and bearing with its other end upon a follower, a spiral spring surrounding a portion of the mid-length of said standard and placed between said nut and'a follower, and a follower sliding upon said standard in advance of said spring, substantially as described.

3. The herein-described device for adjusting faucets in barrels, casks, or kegs against outward pressure, consisting of the combination of the clamp A, standard B, nut F, spiral spring E, and follower D, substantially as dec scribed.

GEORGE W. HARRIGAN.

W'itnesses:

MnLvILLE H. WARDWELL, F. H. CLERGUE. 

